Dodge, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Mapes

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Mapes (1831-1905), an American editor and writer. For over thirty years she was the recognized leader in juvenile literature in America. She was the second daughter of Professor James J. Mapes. New York City was her birthplace, and she received a careful education at home under the direction of governesses and tutors. She married William Dodge, whose early death left her, while still a young woman, with two boys to care for and educate. Mrs. Dodge had always been fond of reading and writing; but it was only when she wished to earn money for the education of the boys that she turned her attention seriously to writing. She was successful at once, her contributions to various magazines receiving a hearty welcome. Her first published volume was Irvington Stories. Her most notable book is Hans Brinker, a story of child life in Holland. For this story, Mrs. Dodge "ransacked libraries, public and private, for books upon Holland; made every traveler whom she knew tell her his tale of that unique country; and submitted every chapter to the test of the criticism of two accomplished Hollanders living near her. It was the genius of patience and toil, the conscientious touching and retouching of the true artist, which wrought the seemingly spontaneous and simple task." The story has passed through many editions both in England and America, and has been translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Russian.

In 1870 Mrs. Dodge accepted the position of associate editor of Hearth and Home, and in 1873 became editor of a new magazine for boys and girls, St. Nicholas. To undertake this work, Mrs. Dodge gave up some cherished dreams of her own of becoming a novelist. Convinced that many could write for older people, while few had so clear a "call" to the field of juvenile literature, she entered heart and soul into the work; and from its first issue in November, 1873, until her death, made St. Nicholas what she said it should be, a "place where children may come and go as they please, where they are not obliged to mind, or say 'Yes, ma'am,' and 'Yes, sir,'-where, in short, they can live a brand new, free life of their own for a little while, accepting acquaintances as they choose and turning their backs without ceremony upon what does not concern them."

Besides Hans Brinker, other books by Mrs. Dodge are Donald and Dorothy, Theophilus and Others, and a volume of poems, Along the Way.